Machine cut tank wall to external overflow box

[FishingLovingSons]

Good to see you got some replies with good pics as examples

I've only ever seen one tank like this in person but it worked really well for him. He doesn't have any pics on his FB specifically of the overflow but here are some (from a few years ago) zoomed it so you can see it better. In the first pic you can kind of see the machined U channel in the back glass. And then there is a fairly thin piece of acrylic over the front that has built in teeth to stop fish from getting in and also hide the plumbing.

Good luck with your build, when you start make sure to link your build thread here so I can follow it!

Haha hello there sir! Thanks for popping in since it was your post on an old thread that got my curiosity boiling. Appreciate the pics as well; and I’m grateful to everyone for the help. Unfortunately I have to give the wife what she wants first- 15’ extension of the back of our entire house with a finished basement underneath! Positive part is not only do I get an epic tank in the center of the house but most of the basement will be mine! (Office, man cave, and fish room!) Also means I have to finish the attic for guest suite and her office but most of that is ready for frame and mechanics already. Looking at 2020 before I can really get the big tank started... never hurts to research and dream though lol

For bulkheads in glass, its generally (as stated above) 1 1/2 the dia. of the hole away from the edge, measured from the center of the hole, and 2 times if 2 holes are drilled. If the tank is over built with added thickness for a large safety factor then you can prob go less. If you stick with that in mind you should be ok. A tank builder should know.

The tank will basically be a peninsula design with a 48” panel where my overflow will be... if I make the overflow channel cut no longer than 40” I’ll feel comfortable with it. Should also allow enough material matching the height of the other panels for a strong eurobrace to assist with structure. Plan on an attaching a top panel but I still keep flipping between 3/4” acrylic or 1”+ starfire(or other low-iron) glass. I’m a fairly aggressive algae scraper on my FW tanks and would hate to ruin such a large acrylic tank attacking coralline.